SOUTH BEND, Ind. — No. 13 Notre Dame has lost starting center Ashton Craig for the rest of the season because of a knee injury, coach Marcus Freeman announced Monday as the team prepares for its annual rivalry game against USC.
Craig suffered the injury during a 36-7 victory over N.C. State on Saturday. Notre Dame (4-2) has won four straight, and Craig has started all six games.
The redshirt junior from Lawrenceburg, Ind., started the first three games last season before suffering a season-ending injury.
“Your thoughts go to the young man who worked so hard to get back from last year, to get himself back into the position he was in this year,” Freeman said. “He was playing extremely well for us, and just unfortunate for him.
“He’s in great spirits to get healed up and look forward to returning next year. He’ll be ready to go. He has the right mindset.”
The Irish face the 20th-ranked Trojans (5-1) on Saturday in the second-to-last game in the series under the current contract between the schools. Freeman said negotiations to extend the rivalry are ongoing.
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Without Craig, Notre Dame is likely to start Joe Otting, a sophomore out of Topeka, Kansas. He was listed as No. 2 behind Craig on the most recent depth chart. Freeman also mentioned Cam Herron, a freshman from Indianapolis, as potentially helping fill the void.
Regardless, Freeman said he’s confident they can find a solution. And he hopes the annual game with USC can remain a tradition for Notre Dame.
“Hopefully we can continue this great rivalry,” Freeman said. “Right now, obviously, my focus is this one that we have and the only one that’s guaranteed and put everything into this one.
“But they know the head coach of this football program desires to continue this rivalry, and it’s not just because I’m at Notre Dame. It’s because I think it’s great for college football.”